In January, Politico reported that the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) is drafting a proposal for federal legislation that would require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to set up a voluntary labeling standard for foods that do not contain GMO ingredients.

GMA’s draft proposal is not final, but according to Politico, it includes provisions to preempt future state labeling initiatives while directing FDA to establish a voluntary labeling standard, a pre-market approval process for products with GMOs and a definition for “natural.” GMA has petitioned FDA to allow GMO foods to be labeled as natural, but the draft policy does not promote any specific definitions for natural.

GMA contends that its proposed policy would be more responsible than a 50-state patchwork of regulations, but critics pushing for mandatory labeling criticize the association for trying to prohibit more meaningful labeling. Shortly after GMA’s proposal was reported, Democratic Representatives Peter DeFazio (OR), Rosa DeLauro (CT), Ann McLane Kuster (NH) and Chellie Pingree (ME) joined a group of more than 200 food companies, organic farmer groups and health and environmental organizations to urge President Barack Obama to require labeling of GMO food products. In 2007, Mr. Obama pledged to give consumers the right to know if their food is genetically engineered, but the administration has not yet taken action on this issue.

“While we will continue to support state-level labeling efforts, we believe there should be a mandatory national labeling system,” the lawmakers and organizations wrote in a letter to Mr. Obama. “FDA has the authority to require food companies to disclose the presence of these novel food ingredients, and the agency has already required labeling of more than 3,000 ingredients, additives and food processes.”

There are currently bills in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 1699) and the U.S. Senate (S. 809) that would require foods with GMOs to be labeled (medical foods would be exempt). The House bill currently has 50 cosponsors and the Senate bill has 15 cosponsors, but there is no indication that either bill will progress in the House or Senate in the near future.

State LegislationReuters reported that more than 20 states are considering laws to mandate labeling of foods made with genetically engineered crops like corn, soybeans and sugar beets. In January, Maine Governor Paul LePage signed a state GMO labeling measure into law, but the new law will not be effective until four other northeastern states pass similar laws. Currently, Connecticut is the only other state to enact a similar law, but Vermont, New Hampshire and New York are expected to consider similar legislation this year.

Vermont’s Senate Agriculture Committee held a multiple-day hearing in late January on its GMO labeling bill that states: “food is misbranded if it is entirely or partially produced with genetic engineering and it is not labeled as genetically engineered.” The Vermont bill has been approved by the state House and, if approved by the Senate and signed into law, it would go into effect even if other states don’t adopt similar legislation. Other measures were narrowly defeated in California and Washington in recent years.

Consumer Pressure
While state and federal legislation is debated, some companies are making changes to meet growing demand for non-GMO products. Whole Foods Market has committed to labeling all GMO products in U.S. and Canadian stores by 2018, and Target is working to eliminate GMOs from its Simply Balanced products by the end of 2014.

Post Foods recently announced it has reformulated Original Grape-Nuts to eliminate GMOs, while General Mills announced it is eliminating GMOs from Original Cheerios by switching from beet sugar to cane sugar and using non-GMO cornstarch. Critics downplayed these changes because it was relatively easy to make Original Cheerios and Grape-Nuts GMO-free. These cereals primarily use wheat and barley and there are no genetically engineered strains of these grains.

GMO opponents are pressuring companies to make more products GMO-free, but Politico reported that a General Mills spokesperson indicated the company doesn’t plan to change other products, noting that “the widespread use of [GMO] crops” makes sourcing ingredients like corn “near impossible.”

However, the changes indicate companies’ growing interest in tapping into consumer demand for non-GMO products.

“We know that some consumers remain uncomfortable with GMOs. As a global food company, we produce products without GM ingredients in some markets—we also offer organic and non-GMO alternatives in most of our major categories in the U.S,” General Mills posted on its website. “We oppose state-based labeling, but we support nationally standardized labeling of non-GMO products in the U.S., where there has generally been no requirement for special labeling,”

AHPA’s GMO Labeling Efforts
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) has been working since July 2007 to find a practical solution for the labeling of products with GMO ingredients. AHPA expressed formal support in 2007 for labeling consumer goods to identify any herbal raw agricultural ingredients knowingly and intentionally cultivated with GMO technologies.

Following the vote on California’s Proposition 37 in 2012, AHPA adopted an additional policy to promote the creation of a federal safe harbor for accurately labeling foods and supplements with regard to the presence or absence of genetically engineered ingredients.

“AHPA continues to promote consumers’ right to be informed when GMO ingredients are in the foods they choose,” said AHPA President Michael McGuffin. “We remain committed to this right and view federal legislation that creates a standard for voluntary disclosure of absence of GMO ingredients as the most pragmatic approach. AHPA will continue to work to build consensus on a solution to inform consumers about products with GMO ingredients.”

Maged Sharaf, PhD, is the chief science officer of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), the national trade association with a focus primarily on herbs and herbal products. AHPA’s membership represents U.S. and international growers, processors, manufacturers, marketers and institutes specializing in botanicals and herbal products. Before AHPA, Dr. Sharaf was the director, Foods, Dietary Supplements and Herbal Medicines at the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP). He has preceding experience conducting bioanalytical assay development and validation, and human bioequivalence studies in support of the pharmaceutical industry; and quality control and manufacturing of pharmaceutical dosage forms. He can be reached at 301-588-1171; E-mail: msharaf@ahpa.org; Website: www.ahpa.org.